


The Sound of Scent

by Roshwen



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Because it's November and that means it's Christmas whether you like it or not, F/M, Fluff, Fun with Synesthesia, No scented candles were harmed during the writing of this fic, Oh and it's Christmas again, Seriously call your dentist after reading this, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-02-03 17:49:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12753183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roshwen/pseuds/Roshwen
Summary: 'I’d love to hear what that one sounds like,’ Jake says as he nods at the bright orange candle she just put back on the shelf. Cassandra makes a face. ‘Loud,’ she says, shaking her head. ‘Very loud and very shrill. Gave me a headache almost immediately.’





	The Sound of Scent

**Author's Note:**

> So, after a ton of Ezekiel-centric fics, I decided to have Jake and Cassie have some fun with just the two of them. And since it's almost (well, sort of almost) Christmas, it's time for Christmas shopping fluff! Have fun!

Jake has got the new boxing gloves for Eve, a bottle of fine whiskey for Jenkins, a stack of Moleskine notebooks for Flynn, three tickets to every soccer match Australia will play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup for Ezekiel and a pair of shoes that Cassandra has been eyeing for weeks now without buying them, because they were incredibly expensive. Christmas shopping: done.

He also has something in sheer black lace for Cassandra because, well, the Victoria’s Secret was right there and some things just happen. Christmas _Eve_ shopping: also done.

Now he is making his way back through the mall to the point where he and Cassandra agreed to meet up after they were both done shopping. He’s almost there when he spots her standing in the scented candle store and he stops walking, and possibly breathing as well because the sight of Cassandra in the candle store is a scene worthy of a Renaissance master.

The store interior is a dream of clean white woodwork with the candles lined up in neatly color coordinated rows against the walls. Softly glowing fairy lights wrapped around the shelves and the tasteful touches of pinecones and dark green holly in artful arrangements make the whole thing look like a Christmas fairy tale, a veritable winter wonder land filled with crisp snow and frosted windows.

And in that winter wonder land stands Cassandra, a vibrant colorful contrast in a dark blue coat, rosy cheeks and red curls. The glow of the fairy lights catches in her hair and turns it a fiery copper, spilling out from under the baby blue beanie and over the white shawl and the collar of her coat. She’s just picked up a candle and sniffed it and she’s poised with her nose to the jar, eyes closed and a soft smile on her face as she tilts her head to listen to something only she can hear.

Jake can’t resist: he takes out his phone and snaps a picture before she spots him and the moment is lost. He also can’t resist texting the picture to Ezekiel, who is on a Christmas ‘shopping’ trip of his own (they didn’t ask) and smiles at the almost immediate reply: _Vermeer. Or Rembrandt. What do you think?_

Jake texts back: _Vermeer. Definitely._ Then he pockets the phone, grabs his shopping bags and heads into the store, where Cassandra has just picked up another candle. She makes a face and puts it back quickly just as he comes up behind her. ‘Hey,’ he says, sliding his arms around her waist, his lips ghosting over the corner of her jaw in an almost-there kiss. The wool of her beanie tickles against his cheek as she leans into him with a low hum before she turns around and wraps her arms around his chest as well, burying her nose in the folds of his scarf. She breathes in deeply and he squeezes her a little tighter because he never seems to be able to hold this tiny force of nature close enough.

Then Cassandra looks up at him with laughter dancing in her eyes and says: ‘Why don’t they make a candle that smells like you?

‘I don’t know,’ Jake says, kissing the top of her head as she tucks it under his chin again. ‘But Jones would probably say it’s because no one would buy a Cowboy Candle.’

Cassandra giggles and Jake nuzzles her hair for a moment before he brings his mouth to her ear and murmurs: ‘But if they got a Cassie Candle in here, darlin’, I’d be the first in line.’

He would. Although he doubts if they could ever make a candle that smells half as good as his Cassie, all warm and sweet like a dollop of honey and cream on freshly baked bread.

Cassandra shivers a little at his voice and Jake knows, just knows that under that heavy wool coat and the fluffy sweater there are goosebumps breaking out. ‘I don’t think they’ve got one of those either,’ she says, ‘but there’s definitely a market for those Cowboy Candles. And Ezekiel would try and steal one too.’

‘He probably would,’ Jake says with a chuckle. ‘Did you find anything else you like in here?’

‘Not yet,’ Cassandra says as she frees herself a little reluctantly from Jake’s embrace. ‘Most of them sound nice, but I used to have one that sounded absolutely amazing and I was hoping they’d have that one here but I can’t seem to find it.’

‘Sound nice, eh?’ Jake says with a grin. The grin grows to a fond smile as Cassandra realizes what she just said and gives him a rueful look. ‘Sorry,’ she says, ‘I forgot. Candles don’t have a sound.’

At that, Jake tilts up her chin with two of his fingers and presses a brief kiss to her mouth, followed by another one to the bridge of her nose, right between her eyes. ‘Not to us ordinary folk they don’t,’ he murmurs, pressing a third kiss to her forehead because she has to know, _has to know_ that her synesthesia is nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to apologize for. It’s part of her, just another thing that makes her amazing. Makes her different, makes her _Cassie_. ‘But if they do for you, I’d love to hear what that one sounds like.’

He nods at the bright orange candle she put away a couple of minutes earlier and Cassandra makes the same face again. ‘Loud,’ she says, shaking her head. ‘Very loud and very shrill. Gave me a headache almost immediately.’

The candle label says _Orange and spices,_ and Jake has to laugh. ‘I thought Jones and I were orange and cinnamon,’ he says, picking up the candle and taking a sniff for himself.

‘That’s why I picked it up,’ Cassandra admits, ‘but it’s not the same.’

A violent storm of artificial orange and cloves assaults Jake’s nostrils, and he stifles a sneeze before he puts the candle back. ‘Yeah,’ he says, wrinkling his nose. ‘I see what you mean. Got anything better?’

‘This one,’ Cassandra says as she takes his hand and shows him a candle that’s a pale off-white. ‘This one sounds like the Annex when everybody’s working. You know, like when Jenkins is humming in the kitchen and you are writing in your notebooks and Ezekiel is typing away on his laptop and it’s just… _quiet._ ’

Jake looks at her for a long moment, unable to keep the warmth from his voice as he says: ‘That sounds good, Cassie.’

He doesn’t look at the label, just brings the candle to his nose. It smells warm and a bit musky, like an old book. It’s a homey and familiar scent and in a way, he understands what Cassandra means when she says it sounds like a quiet afternoon in the Annex. ‘Smells good, too,’ he says with a smile as he looks at the label. ‘ _Old parchment._ Yeah, I got that.’

‘It’s nice,’ Cassandra says, taking the candle from him and smelling it again herself, ‘but it’s not what I was looking for.’

‘What are you looking for, darlin’?’ Jake asks, reaching for a light green candle before Cassandra stops him. ‘Not that one,’ she says in a disgusted voice. ‘That one sounds like my mother at Christmas dinner.’

Jake hastily leaves the light green candle for what it is.

‘I’m looking for… ehm,’ Cassandra continues, biting her lip and looking a bit lost at the rows and rows of colored wax surrounding them. ‘It’s a bit hard to explain.’

‘Give it a try,’ Jake says, placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her to another shelf. ‘You know what color it was?’

‘Light blue,’ Cassandra says, looking at the array before them ranging from the palest turquoise to a navy that’s so deep it’s almost black. ‘And it sounded like… like a violin solo right after the big orchestra climax. Like the quiet after a storm, when everything is over and you finally feel you can breathe again.’

‘That might be tricky to find,’ Jake says softly, ‘but you’re right. It sounds amazing. So. Let’s do this the scientific way then, shall we?’

He grabs the first two light blue candles from the shelf and puts them down on the display table behind them. Then another two and another two, as Cassandra grasps his idea and starts picking up candles as well. When a store employee hurries over, worried about customers messing with their very carefully put together display, Jake assures her that they’ll put everything back right the way they found it, they just need to do a little sniff test. Whether it’s his explanation or the sight of Cassandra looking at the candles with big, hopeful eyes, they’ll never know, but the employee merely nods and beats a quiet retreat.

At last, they have about a dozen light blue candles lined up. ‘Okay,’ Jake says as he picks up the first one. ‘Close your eyes. No peeking.’

Cassandra does as she is told. She looks like a little kid waiting for a Christmas present and Jake bites back a chuckle at the adorable sight. He holds the candle up and waits for her to sniff it, then puts it back on the table and ask: ‘Candle no. 1, pass or fail?’

‘Fail,’ Cassandra says with a shake of her head. ‘Sounds like the sea, which is nice but…’

‘… not what you’re looking for,’ Jake finishes. ‘Okay, got it. Ready for no. 2?’

Candle #2 is a fail as well. According to Cassandra, it sounds like birds chirping in a summer sky.

#3 sounds like a commercial jingle, #4 is a pop song Jake has never heard of and #5 makes Cassandra laugh and tell Jake that it sounds like Jenkins telling them they are all idiots and that they should stop bothering him, right before he gives them the crucial information that solves the case.

Jake puts candle #5 aside from the rest because it might not be a pass, but he is definitely taking that one home as well.

Then he holds up candle #6 and the expression on Cassandra’s face changes. It grows sad, a little painful even and Jake steps closer because whatever she is hearing, it looks like it’s bringing back some not so happy memories. ‘What is it?’ he asks softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she lets out a shuddering breath and gives him a watery smile.

‘Hospital,’ she says simply and Jake immediately puts the candle as far away as he possibly can without throwing it out of the store.

Thankfully, the next candle sounds like rain against the windows of her apartment, which is apparently a very comforting sound. It’s still not a pass, but it does get put in the ‘if we can’t find it, we’ll settle for this one’ line, next to the Jenkins one and the off-white candle that sounds like the Annex.

When Jake holds up the second to last candle however, Cassandra has barely smelled it before her face splits in one of the widest smiles Jake has ever seen. ‘That’s it,’ she whispers, opening her eyes and looking at him with a shining happiness that seems to light up the entire store. She reaches out and grabs the candle from Jake’s hand before she inhales again deeply and then heaves a blissful sigh, closing her eyes and tilting her head in the exact same way she did when Jake found her, listening to the scent.

For the second time that afternoon, Jake can do nothing but stand there and smile in amazement and wonder at the picture in front of him. This tiny miracle, this incredible mix of smart and sexy and sweet and confusion of senses, this girl who can scare him more than any other person on the planet and in more ways than one to boot, is _his_ and in moments like these, Jake cannot believe his luck.

‘Come here,’ he says, reaching out and pulling her close, pressing a fierce kiss to her temple as she tucks her face obligingly into the crook of his neck. ‘Let me see that.’

With one arm wrapped tight around Cassandra, he holds the candle with his other hand and breathes in. It smells like lavender and rosemary, a fresh herb scent, clean and airy and soothing. He doesn’t hear the violins, but he thinks he understands a little what Cassandra meant when she said it was a candle that smelled like she could breathe again.

He puts the candle in the little victory spot they cleared on the display table before they started. Then he wraps both arms tight around Cassandra, who is swaying against him in time to inaudible music and nuzzles another kiss to her temple as he holds her, safe and warm against him.

After a long moment, Cassandra shifts and looks up at him with a mischievous spark in her eyes. ‘I still think you smell even better,’ she whispers, before she cups his cheek in one small hand and drags him down for a kiss. It’s brief and gentle (they are in public after all and the store employees are already giving them weird enough looks as it is), but when they break apart they are still out of breath.

‘Let’s get out of here,’ Jake murmurs, reveling in the shudder that runs through Cassandra at the sound of his voice.

As he kisses her again, more deeply this time and with his hands roving up and down the back of her soft woolen coat, her slight frame pressed up against him and both her hands buried in his hair, he suddenly has a sneaking suspicion that the present in the small pink Victoria’s Secret bag won’t actually make it to Christmas Eve.


End file.
